scholarly journals ESTA: Educating Adolescents in Sustainable Travel Urban Behavior through Mobile Applications Using Motivational Features

Computation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Maria Eftychia Angelaki ◽  
Theodoros Karvounidis ◽  
Christos Douligeris

This paper proposes the use of motivational features in mobile applications to support adolescents’ education in sustainable travel urban behavior, so that they become more mindful of their environmental impact. To this effect, existing persuasive strategies are adopted, implemented, and integrated into six simulated screens of a prospective mobile application named ESTA, designed for this purpose through a user-centered design process. These screens are then assessed by secondary education pupils, the outcome of which is analyzed and presented in detail. The analysis takes into consideration the possibility for the daily use of ESTA in order for the adolescents to foster an eco-friendly and healthy transit attitude and make more sustainable mobility choices that will follow them throughout their life. The potential effectiveness of ESTA is demonstrated via two use cases: the “Daily Commuting” case is addressed towards adolescents who want to move within their area of residence or neighborhood following their daily routine and activities, while the “Weekend Entertainment” is addressed towards adolescents who want to move using the available public transport modes, encouraging them to adopt greener weekend travel habits.

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Fatecha ◽  
Patricia Fauvety ◽  
Nathalie Aquino ◽  
Magalí González ◽  
Daniel Romero ◽  
...  

The state of sidewalks in Asunción, Paraguay is far from being optimal. There are many problems such as obstructions, necessary repairs, lack of ramps, unevenness of surface, among others. In addition, the Municipality of Asunción does not have automated mechanisms to know the updated status of sidewalks. In this work we propose SmartMoving, a mobile application that collects information on the state of the sidewalks, with the help of citizens, and recommends pedestrian paths with fewer obstacles. The application can be especially useful for people with reduced mobility, as well as for the Municipality of Asunción. This type of application is based on citizen participation, since it receives data from them, and therefore requires a particularly friendly user experience, adapted to users and their daily context. Therefore, the need for a participatory and user-centered design, as a basis for the development of the application. Therefore, in this paper we present the SmartMoving application and the user-centered design process that has been followed for its development, involving users with reduced mobility.


Author(s):  
Nor Hayati Kassim ◽  
Norlina Mohamed Noor ◽  
Jati Kasuma ◽  
Juliza Saleh ◽  
Ceaser Dealwis ◽  
...  

Companies are now recognizing that their employees require a spectrum of mobile applications in order to achieve maximum efficiency at the workplace. Mobile applications such as WeChat, Twitter and WhatsApp via smartphones have become influential tools and extensively used by employees at the workplace. This state-of-the-art technology in communication has penetrated various fields, including routine administrative jobs at the workplace. The objective of this research is toinvestigate the acceptance of the WhatsApp mobile application for formal use among support staff at The Commission of the City of Kuching North, Sarawak (DBKU). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and behavioral intention of the users in using WhatsApp are the variables measured for job performance. The researchers utilized convenience sampling, whereby a total of 105 employees from two departments participated in the investigation. Data was collected using a set of selfadministered questionnaires which was adapted from Davis. The findings revealed that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of WhatsApp as a means of communication were significant for job performance at DBKU. The employees felt more competent during their formal interaction at the workplace as less effort was needed while using WhatsApp. The existence of features which were user-friendly and easy operational functions helped to create positive attitudes when utilizing the application. Faster feedback, ease of use, and convenience were some of the reasons for the employees’ willingness to use WhatsApp for communication at the workplace.


Author(s):  
Utkarsh Kumar ◽  
Anil Kumar Gope ◽  
Shweta Singh

In India, the position of mobile banking was in saga and this time, it is in pic position. The speedof reaching the people is going high and high. This is time of wireless world and sense of prestige; no doubt the mobile commerce is contributing to enhance the beauty of life and playing the role of metaphor and has become the part and parcel of our life. This growth has changed people to do business in mobile commerce (М- Commerce). Peoples are transferring to M-Commerce to attain good and fast transaction into market and saving their precious time. M-Commerce has become distinguished in Indian people, quickly during last few years. Due to large number of mobile application, growth rate in mobile penetration in India is increasing with the rapid speed. The mobile users has shifted to use the android phone from simple and black and white phone and taking the service of internet, the role of telecom companies is also important in the being popular of mobile commerce. Although many people have started E-Commerce but still a separate part of the society feel uncomfortable and hesitate to use M-Commerce because of security problems, payment issues and complexity of mobile applications. This paper identifies facts about the feasibility of MCommercein India today its growth and the Strength and opportunity, weakness and threats lying ahead.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalya Al-Moghrabi ◽  
Fiorella Beatriz Colonio-Salazar ◽  
Ama Johal ◽  
Padhraig Seamus Fleming

BACKGROUND Diligent wear of removable orthodontic retainers requires prolonged compliance and is invariably necessary to preserve optimal results. Patient-informed behaviour-change interventions represent a promising and novel means of enhancing compliance with retainer wear. OBJECTIVE To describe the development of a patient-informed mobile application aimed to enhance retainer wear. METHODS Four aspects were considered during mobile application development: participant preferences; analysis of publicly-available retainer-related posts on Twitter; available interventions; and behaviour-change theories. Audio-recorded one-to-one interviews were conducted with a subset of participants to account for patient preferences in terms of features, design and content. A criterion-based purposive sample of participants wearing vacuum-formed retainers for at least 4 years was used. Thematic analysis of transcribed data was undertaken. RESULTS The need to facilitate communication with the treating clinician, responsive reminder and tracking systems, and access to useful and engaging written and visual information, in addition to other personalised and interactive features were considered important. Concerns related to retainer wear shared on Twitter informed an exhaustive list of frequently-asked questions. Application features were mapped to relevant theoretical constructs. Determinants of existing behavioural change theories were used to link application features to expected outcomes. CONCLUSIONS A holistic process involving both patient and professional input can be useful in informing the development of mobile applications. The orthodontic application (“My Retainers”) will undergo further scrutiny in relation to its effectiveness in inducing behavioural change and concerning patient experiences prior to finalisation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 321
Author(s):  
Alessandro Emilio Capodici ◽  
Gabriele D’Orso ◽  
Marco Migliore

Background: In a world where every municipality is pursuing the goals of more sustainable mobility, bicycles play a fundamental role in getting rid of private cars and travelling by an eco-friendly mode of transport. Additionally, private and shared bikes can be used as a feeder transit system, solving the problem of the first- and last-mile trips. Thanks to GIS (Geographic Information System) software, it is possible to evaluate the effectiveness of such a sustainable means of transport in future users’ modal choice. Methods: Running an accessibility analysis of cycling and rail transport services, the potential mobility demand attracted by these services and the possible multimodality between bicycle and rail transport systems can be assessed. Moreover, thanks to a modal choice model calibrated for high school students, it could be verified if students will be really motivated to adopt this solution for their home-to-school trips. Results: The GIS-based analysis showed that almost half of the active population in the study area might potentially abandon the use of their private car in favour of a bike and its combination with public transport systems; furthermore, the percentage of the students of one high school of Palermo, the Einstein High School, sharply increases from 1.5% up to 10.1%, thanks also to the combination with the rail transport service. Conclusions: The GIS-based methodology shows that multimodal transport can be an effective way to pursue a more sustainable mobility in cities and efficiently connect suburbs with low-frequent public transport services to the main public transport nodes.


Author(s):  
Kirsi Rasmus ◽  
Antti Toratti ◽  
Saujanya Karki ◽  
Paula Pesonen ◽  
Marja-Liisa Laitala ◽  
...  

The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the acceptability of an oral health-related mobile application developed for young children based on the feedback given by the children and their parents. Another aim was to evaluate the self-reported change in children’s oral health behaviors during a short test period. The application—a virtual pet integrated into a child’s daily routines—aimed to promote oral hygiene and dietary behaviors in children. A total of 36 4–12-year-old voluntary children were given a mobile phone with the installed application. After the 5-week testing period, the feasibility of the application and possible changes in the children’s oral health behaviors were asked using an electronic questionnaire. Most of the children considered the application clear (n = 34), amusing (n = 31), and useful (n = 29). The children’s tooth brushing manners improved both qualitatively and quantitatively: the time used for tooth brushing increased and the children learned how to brush different tooth surfaces. Mobile applications can be fun and useful in oral health promotion; while playing, children can learn good oral health-related behaviors. Mobile applications integrate oral health promotion into children’s daily environment and routines.


Author(s):  
Audrius Dėdelė ◽  
Auksė Miškinytė

Sustainable mobility is becoming a key factor in improving the quality of life of the residents and increasing physical activity (PA) levels. The current situation of sustainable mobility and its analysis is a first step in understanding the factors that would encourage residents to discover and choose alternative modes of travel. The present study examined the factors that encourage the choice of active modes of travel among urban adult population. Walking and cycling were analyzed as the most sustainable forms of urban mobility from the perspective of car and public transport (PT) users. Total of 902 subjects aged 18 years or older were analyzed in the study to assess commuting habits in Kaunas city, Lithuania. The majority (61.1%) of the respondents used a passenger vehicle, 28.2% used PT, and only 13.5% used active modes of travel. The results showed that safer pedestrian crossings, and comfortable paths were the most significant factors that encourage walking. A wider cycling network, and bicycle safety were the most important incentives for the promotion of cycling. Our findings show that the main factors encouraging walking and cycling among car and PT users are similar, however, the individual characteristics that determine the choice of these factors vary significantly.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1962
Author(s):  
Timo Liljamo ◽  
Heikki Liimatainen ◽  
Markus Pöllänen ◽  
Riku Viri

Car ownership is one of the key factors affecting travel behaviour and thus also essential in terms of sustainable mobility. This study examines car ownership and how people’s willingness to own a car may change in the future, when considering the effects of public transport, Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and automated vehicles (AVs). Results of two citizen surveys conducted with representative samples (NAV-survey = 2036; NMaaS-survey = 1176) of Finns aged 18–64 are presented. The results show that 39% of respondents would not want or need to own a car if public transport connections were good enough, 58% if the described mobility service was available and 65% if all vehicles in traffic were automated. Hence, car ownership can decrease as a result of the implementation of AVs and MaaS, and higher public transport quality of service. Current mobility behaviour has a strong correlation to car ownership, as respondents who use public transport frequently feel less of a will or need to own a car than others. Generally, women and younger people feel less of a will or need to own a car, but factors such as educational level and residential location seem to have a relatively low effect.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 604
Author(s):  
Yalan Shi ◽  
Miaojing Yu

Tourism, as one economic activity, results in a full range of environmental impacts globally as well as in China. However, the evaluation of environmental impacts is insufficient because of the strong correlation effect between tourism and other industries. This study attempted to assess the environmental impact and cost of the tourism-induced pollutant emissions (in a broad sense) at the national scale through constructing the environmental-economic input-output model. Our results suggested that the China’s total emission of CO2, NOx, SOx related to tourism industry increased from 42 × 106 t, 162 kt, 345 kt in 1995 to 157 × 106 t, 527 kt, 854 kt in 2009. The indirect CO2, NOx, and SOx emissions of tourism and related industries were nearly 6.8–11 times of their direct emission in travel agency. Most of these indirect emissions (73% of CO2 in 2009, 54% of NOx in 1995, 62% of SOx in 2009) are derived from the energy plants and industrial sectors. The sustainable tourism should largely depend on the realization of sustainable mobility and transportation, through the low-emission behavior and energy-saving technology. The emission reduction cost of tourism industry in China was 30,170 and 172,812 million CNY in 1995 and 2009, accounting for nearly 14% of the total tourism revenue.


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